Fairings are used to improve the aerodynamics of a vehicle. Fairings are typically added to the exterior of an existing vehicle to reduce drag when moved. Fairings may be added at many locations on tractors and trailers to improve the aerodynamics of these large vehicles. Fairings have been attached to the front and back of tractors as well as the front, top, bottom, and rear of the trailer. Fairings have also been placed in front of and behind the tires of a trailer to improve aerodynamics.
Landing gear supports a trailer in the absence of a tractor, but also the landing gear must be transported with the trailer when it is moved. Trailer landing gear has many non-aerodynamic features such as the structural supports for the landing gear. These non-aerodynamic features on the landing gear increase drag which increases the cost of transporting the trailer. Thus, it is desirable to have fairings to reduce the drag caused by the landing gear.
The wheel assemblies of trailers are also not aerodynamic and can increase the drag on the trailer when it is moved. Road debris can collect on the underside of the trailer during transportation and result in increased aerodynamic drag. Thus, it is desirable to have fairings that improve the aerodynamics of the trailer wheel assembly and the underside of the trailer.
Crash attenuators are energy absorbing systems that reduce the severity of vehicular collisions, especially the type involving a fast moving motor vehicle and a road barrier or a highway trailer vehicle. The success of crash impact attenuators is measured by the ability of the devices to limit the extent of injuries suffered by people and the damage done by the equipment as a consequence of such collisions.
Truck trailers typically have a higher elevation than passenger vehicles. This presents a risk that a passenger vehicle will underride the trailer in an accident, potentially resulting in damage to the underriding vehicle and injury to occupants therein. Accordingly, the United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards require the installation of underride guards or bumpers on certain trailers. The underride guards must comply with certain deflection and energy absorption requirements. Underride guards are common on the rear of trailers, however underride guards between the landing gear and wheel assembly of the trailer are less common.
A device positioned between the landing gear and wheel assembly of the trailer can function to prevent an impacting vehicle from under ridding the trailer. Additionally such a device can have features to reduce the aerodynamic drag on the trailer.
There have been attempts to solve some of these issues. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,953 that issued to McErlane teaches “an airfoil or deflector panel for being mounted ahead of the rearmost set of wheels of a vehicle such as a truck or tractor-drawn trailer to direct air flow in a manner which reduces the relatively negative air pressure normally occurring behind a moving vehicle. The surface of the deflector which is presented in the direction of vehicle motion has a bilateral or compound convex curve.”
U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,732 that issued to Oplet teaches “a crash attenuator [that] includes a plurality of layers . . . of fibrous cellular material. Each of the layers is comprised of a plurality of hexagonal elongate cells fabricated of a fibrous cellulose material that has a longitudinal axis that is disposed horizontal to the ground such that the edge of the cell is directed toward the impacting vehicle. A flat sheet of fibrous material . . . is disposed between each of the layers to provide an energy dispersing surface. A rear impact plate . . . is disposed on the impacting end of the crash attenuator . . . and is fabricated from a soft metal. A front mounting plate . . . is disposed on the opposite end thereof and the two secured by tension cables . . . . The exterior of the layers . . . is covered by sheets . . . . Thereafter, a layer of moisture proof material . . . is disposed over the surface of the crash attenuator . . . to prevent moisture from entering the interior.”
U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,321 that issued to McHorse teaches “a vehicle having a side-mounted fairing for reducing aerodynamic drag . . . [and] a portion of the fairing is easily removable to allow access to vehicle components . . . . The removable fairing includes a convolute sheet of substantially rigid material in which planar surfaces are formed for providing steps. Support rails are mounted to an inner surface of the fairing just below the steps to connect the fairing to the vehicle and to support weight placed on the steps. The rails include mortise and tenon connections for connecting the removable fairing portion to a fixed portion of the fairing. In addition, support brackets are fixedly attached to the vehicle and extend outward to provide support for the removable fairing. Fasteners are provided for securing the removable fairing to the vehicle and to the fixed portion of the fairing.”
U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,617 that issued to Loewen teaches “a fairing attachable beneath a lower, outer longitudinal edge of a trailer. The fairing has longitudinally extending forward and rearward sections. The rearward section can be moved longitudinally to adjustably locate its rearward edge in a selected position forward of the trailer's wheel assembly. Such adjustable positioning occurs automatically if the rearward section is coupled to and longitudinally movable with the support frame for the trailer's wheel assembly, thus maintaining the rearward edge of the fairing in the selected position whenever the trailer's wheel assembly is longitudinally adjusted relative to the trailer. A hinge mechanism coupled between the trailer and the fairing allows pivotal displacement of each fairing section between lowered and raised positions. The lowered position is for long distance haulage of the trailer in order to achieve fuel economy. The raised position is for situations in which the trailer must be maneuvered over ramps, uneven terrain, etc. which might contact the underside of or otherwise interfere with the fairing.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,540 that issued to Tusim teaches “an energy absorbing article . . . formed of extruded thermoplastic foam . . . [that exhibits high] anisotropic compressive strength. The extrusion direction of the thermoplastic foam is aligned substantially parallel with the direction in which impact resistance is desired to provide an energy absorbing article exhibiting a high ratio of compressive strength to weight.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,556 that issued to Jacobs teaches “an external vehicle airbag system . . . , a method of its use and a principal vehicle . . . on which it is mounted [that] involves mounting an airbag . . . at a bottom side . . . of the principal vehicle at a position spaced substantially laterally inwardly from a lateral-side periphery . . . of the principal vehicle. Also involved is a sensor . . . for being mounted on the principal vehicle at a position more laterally outwardly, in a direction toward the lateral-side periphery, than is the airbag. The sensor senses a collision of the principal vehicle with a colliding vehicle and, in response thereto, inflates the airbag below the principal vehicle, along the bottom thereof toward the lateral-side periphery, to thereby absorb energy from the colliding vehicle and prevent under-riding. In one embodiment, the sensor is positioned approximately at the lateral-side periphery and it can be mounted on a rigid under-ride guard.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,974,178 that issued to Ortega teaches “an apparatus for reducing the aerodynamic drag of a wheeled vehicle in a flowstream, the vehicle having a vehicle body and a wheel assembly supporting the vehicle body. The apparatus includes a baffle assembly adapted to be positioned upstream of the wheel assembly for deflecting airflow away from the wheel assembly so as to reduce the incident pressure on the wheel assembly.”
U.S. Pat. No. 7,093,889 that issued to Graham teaches “a device for reducing vehicle aerodynamic resistance for vehicles having a generally rectangular body disposed above rear wheels . . . [The device] comprising a plurality of load bearing struts attached to the bottom of the rectangular body adjacent its sides, a plurality of opposing flat sheets attached to the load bearing struts, and angled flaps attached to the lower edge of the opposing sheets defining an obtuse angle with the opposing flat sheets extending inwardly with respect to the sides of the rectangular body to a predetermined height above the ground, which, stiffen the opposing flat sheets, bend to resist damage when struck by the ground, and guide airflow around the rear wheels of the vehicle to reduce its aerodynamic resistance when moving.”
German Patent Application Publication No. DE4142804 that issued to Eble teaches a “bottom part of the vehicle, between the wheels, . . . [that] is fitted with a tubular frame . . . to which are clipped side panels . . . . These protect pedestrians etc. from running under the vehicle . . . . The panels are removable to access storage lockers, spare wheels etc. The tubular frames . . . have horizontal rails . . . along which the panels can slide. The panels are fitted via clips . . . . The upper mounting can be flexible . . . to enable the panels to be swung up for access to the chassis.”
British Patent Application Publication No. GB2172556 that issued to Brown teaches “a sideguard assembly for a commercial vehicle . . . [The sideguard assembly] has a side rail assembly consisting of two parallel spaced apart side rails . . . secured together at one end by a vertical post . . . extending therebetween, the assembly being releasably connected to one or more brackets . . . which in turn are connected to the cross members . . . on the vehicles chassis. The position of connection of the side rail assembly to the brackets is adjustable and the position of connection of the brackets to the vehicles cross members is also adjustable to suit different vehicles.”
World Intelectual Proerty Organization Patent Application Publication No. WO2005115804 that issued to Ericksson teaches “an arrangement for a vehicle side underrun protection comprising at least one loadbearing member, which extends between the wheels or sets of wheels of the vehicle in the longitudinal direction thereof and basically along the outer contour of the vehicle, and which serves as side impact protection and/or protection to prevent unprotected road-users ending up under the vehicle. The side underrun protection . . . comprises at least one longitudinal section . . . suspended in at least two first brackets . . . fixed to the vehicle, along which brackets . . . at least one end of each individual section . . . of the side underrun protection . . . is vertically adjustable from at least a first, active position to a second, inactive position. The invention also relates to a vehicle provided with such a side underrun protection.”